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Well said. I feel the same way, and have for a long time. My 2 sons have been gracious and grateful for the gifts we have been able to give them and yet I too find myself ever more alienated by the sheer force of being identified as a consumer rather than a person of heart and mind. My siblings and I do not do this "thing." We have a mutual agreement, unspoken, to respect the quiet of our special days throughout the year. We are still there for each other whenever needed. My other family has an utterly secular gift-giving insistence at Christmas. The best I can do is make a joke of it and lately, despite the disappointment, I give to charities in their names. We also make gifts; they are beautiful and from the heart -- but our recipients have grown tired of this.

The On Being productions and interviews sustain me in more ways than I have ever found in a life of seeking to understand our world and our human traits. On Being is a gift I allow myself.